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Many development organizations struggle with achieving scale—should more NGO’s consider partnerships to achieve their aims?

BRAC usually scales primarily through their infrastructure, but the success of their educational support program offers an inspiring example of the power of scaling through others.

A primary school that is part of BRAC’s Educational Support Program in rural Mymensingh

Since 1985, BRAC has educated nearly 5 million Bangladeshi students through its non-formal primary education program. In the early nineties, BRAC decided to educate children in Bangladesh’s most remote areas. These students did not have access to government schools. Dr. Safiqual Islam, BRAC’s Education Program Director describes his program’s approach as, “the school goes to the children, the children don’t come to the school” in this New York Times blog.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC’s founder and chairperson was committed to expanding the model through partners. He referred to the African proverb, “To go fast, go alone. To go far, go with others.” BRAC determined that the most efficient way to do this was by developing partnerships with local NGOs already working in remote areas. To enable these NGOs to replicate BRAC’s primary school model, it provided training, technical assistance and funds to support the program. The educational support program has been a great success in terms of results and scale—in 2009 and 2010 over 97% of the students received a passing grade on the government exam. To date, BRAC has partnered with over 400 organizations, representing nearly 4,700 schools and over 750,000 graduates.

GRAMAUS founder, Abdul Khaleque

As a result of the educational support program, many NGO leaders feel that they have improved their management, organizational and pedagogical techniques. The founder of GRAMAUS, Abdul Khaleque shared that he has closely observed BRAC and incorporated aspects of BRAC’s approach into his programs. Specifically, he has incorporated social enterprises and an emphasis on organization into his organization. Many of them have applied these lessons to other parts of their organization’s work, and use the model with schools that aren’t funded by BRAC.

They also feel as if they are a part of BRAC—and by extension part of something bigger than themselves. Khaleque said, “I am a member of the BRAC family.” Interestingly, partner NGOs’ visibility and credibility with donors and other organizations has been elevated as a result of their relationship with BRAC, leading to increased funding opportunities and new partnerships. This raises the question, are there other established organizations that could offer similar benefits to fledgling organizations?

For more detail on how BRAC scaled their primary education model throughout Bangladesh via local NGOs, please see the full case study. This case is part of the “Doing while learning” initiative and one of a series of four case studies analyzing how social innovations scaled in South Asia. The “Doing while learning” initiative is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Amanda Misiti is a Knowledge Management and Communications Officer for BRAC’s Social Innovation Lab. Follow her on Twitter @AJoyMisiti.

Last year, the Australian Government commissioned an independent review of its overseas aid program, AusAID, to examine the effectiveness of the current program and recommend improvements. The study’s findings, which were published in an April 2011 report, found that AusAID’s overall performance was effective, particularly in Bangladesh where it has delivered key improvements in education, health, and reducing extreme poverty. The review cites that these results have been achieved through a range of partnerships with NGOs, most notably BRAC. In a resounding endorsement, the review panel argued that “BRAC is a good example of an effective local NGO that Australia can confidently support.”

Key achievements from the Australian-BRAC partnership in Bangladesh include:

Reduced maternal mortality rates of 15 percent across 11 districts, by improving skills and support for 16,200 community workers and volunteers to care for women during childbirth.

Better access to primary and pre-primary school for 1.5 million children who otherwise would not have attended school–65% of these were girls.

2.4 million people (mainly women and children) lifted out of extreme poverty through complementary health skills training and livelihood support activities.

BRAC received $30.4 million in funding from the Australian government in 2009-2010. As the review extolled,”BRAC’s success has been built on its knowledge and understanding of poverty, and its strong focus on women and girls. Its effort in microfinance have helped more than four million people access credit.”

Following the positive results of the review panel, Australia increased its aid to Asia and Africa. Overall, the government plans on increasing aid by o.5% of GNI in 2015-2016, in line with its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

BRAC and The MasterCard Foundation today announced the expansion of a $45 million partnership to scale BRAC’s innovative microfinance multiplied model in Uganda. The announcement, which was made at the opening plenary of the 2011 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, will enable BRAC to expand its network to 129 branches, benefiting more than four million Ugandans.”The MasterCard Foundation aims to scale innovative microfinance programs in Africa to improve the lives of people living in poverty,” said Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. “BRAC’s holistic approach integrates microfinance and livelihood services to help women to become productive economically and build assets to benefit their families.”

Today’s announcement builds on an existing partnership with The MasterCard Foundation in Uganda, where BRAC’s approach, which it calls “microfinance multiplied,” increases the ability of poor clients to productively use microloans to augment their incomes and build their assets, as well as stimulate economic and social development within their communities.

“Through this expanded partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, BRAC will be able to deepen the outreach of our current microfinance and livelihoods program in Uganda and expand our network to 129 branches,” said Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC’s Founder & Chairperson. “We will also be undertaking a series of long-term studies to assess impact of integrated approach to services on lives of clients, their families and their communities.”

Uganda is a country of 30 million people. More than 60 percent of the population does not have access to financial services. The BRAC program will provide economically active women with loans, training and technical support to enable them to improve their livelihoods, particularly those in the agricultural poultry and livestock sectors. Additionally, the program will expand vocational and life-skills education for adolescent girls.

“The theme of the 2011 Skoll World Forum is Large Scale Change—ecosystems, networks and collaborative action,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO, Skoll Foundation. “This announcement by BRAC and The MasterCard Foundation is a great example of collaborative action, innovation, and entrepreneurship helping solve the world’s most pressing problems.”

Anthony Muljadi, a former BRAC Bangladesh intern and a student at Harvard Business School writes about the importance of partnerships for the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference blog.

Last summer I took a microfinance internship in Bangladesh with BRAC, the world’s largest development NGO serving over 110 million people across 14 countries. I arrived in Bangladesh with a simplistic belief that microfinance was the end-all solution to poverty. After spending a few weeks in the field, however, I quickly realized that while microfinance alleviated financial poverty for many poor Bangladeshis, it did not directly address their educational, health, and enterprise needs of borrowers. BRAC has long recognized this gap, and thus takes a holistic approach to addressing poverty by offering a portfolio of resources (education, health, training, etc.) to its clients depending on individual needs. In this way, BRAC behaves as a social enterprise conglomerate – a one stop shop for all of its clients’ basic needs. Seeing the breadth of services that BRAC offered, I started thinking about how smaller enterprises could broaden their community impact without needing to become conglomerates. Partnerships appeared to be the best option to accomplish this goal. After doing some research, I realized that partnerships could take on many forms (e.g. corporations with non-profits, governments with social enterprises, etc) and create a number of mutual benefits, including brand awareness, access to new networks, and resource sharing.

One success story of corporate and non-profit collaboration is the “FDNY CPR To Go” partnership between the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) and New York Sports Club (NYSC). Last year, the FDNY was looking to expand its free CPR training programs, but did not have adequate facilities or demand. On the other hand, NYSC had excess space at certain times during the day and a strong membership base. Working with Mayor Bloomberg’s NYC Service office, NYSC offered space for FDNY to conduct CPR training. While the FDNY benefited from greater outreach and free space, the NYSC benefited from increased PR and business by offering free trial memberships to all CPR trainees. It was win-win – clients of both organizations benefited from an expanded portfolio of health services.

This success story should not be taken as a silver bullet. Although cross-sector partnerships are gaining popularity, they can often be difficult to form. Despite knowing their own resources and needs, organizations might have difficulty identifying complementary partners. With the advent of social media and the proliferation of collaboration databases and volunteer-match sites, the social impact partnership space is growing.

Given the vast potential in this area, I am eager to attend the “Strategy and Innovations in Cross-Sector Partnerships” Panel at the 2011 Harvard Social Enterprise Conference, where leaders in the field will gather to discuss the latest developments in partnerships for social impact. The four amazing keynote speakers, including Root Capital CEO Willy Foote, Paul Carttar from the Social Innovation Fund, Clinton Global Initiative CEO Robert Harrison, and Beatrice Biira from Millennium Promise, reflect the diversity of capabilities that must be brought to bear to create social change, and I realize now that it is the partnerships between these groups that generate large-scale impact. The Social Enterprise Conference is a gathering place for individuals who are passionate about social impact, and I hope it becomes a launching point for the high impact partnerships of the future.

The Rochdale Bangladeshi Partnership Project (RBPP) raised more than £2000 at a charity Iftar – a gathering to break the fast – on Monday night (23 August 2010).

The proceeds of the event are for the joint programme between BRAC and Sightsavers International, who are working in Bangladesh to eliminate avoidable blindness and promote equality of opportunity for disabled people in the developing world under the “Vision Bangladesh” agenda.

There were also friends, family and members of the public present including Councillor Sultan Ali, Councillor Farooq Ahmed, Councillor Daalat Ali and Faruk Ali and Simon Danzcuk MP.

The RBPP organises an Iftar (gathering) on an annual basis, but this year decided to include fundraising as part of it.

The event included information about the Vision Bangladesh programme followed by a meal to open the fast at the end of the day when the sunsets as well as prayers for all of mankind including those less fortunate than us.

The money raised, £2030 in total on the night, will be forwarded to the BRAC UK offices who will make arrangements for providing cataract operations in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. Sylhet was adjoined to Rochdale through a Friendship Link last year.

The RBPP is proud to be associated with BRAC and Sightsavers International – two great organisations who have excellent track records. The RBPP hope to support future initiatives through more fundraising activities.

Secretary of RBPP, Mohammed Dobir Miah added: “We are grateful for all the donations made at the charity Iftar. On behalf of the RBPP I would like to thank all those who took part in the charity Iftar and be part of such a great cause. We hope that our contribution will go a long way to help those who are less fortunate and with better vision can build their lives. Can I also extend my thanks to the staff and management of the La Min-Haz Restaurant in Middleton for hosting the charity Iftar.”

Collaboration through the Clinton Global Initiative seen as innovative approach to addressing challenges in Haiti

Fonkoze, BRAC, BRAC USA, Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante, CGAP, CHF Partners in Rural Development and Linked Foundation have joined forces to commit $50 million towards a two-year effort to implement a proven, replicable, cost-effective approach to improving health and reducing extreme poverty in Central Haiti.

President Clinton’s appointment as United Nations special envoy to Haiti and the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative draw attention to the extreme and persistent poverty in Haiti and the need for innovative solutions.

Fonkoze and Zanmi Lasante, two leading Haitian NGOs with decades of experience in the target area, together with BRAC, the largest NGO in the Global South, and other organizations are using their complementary strengths to improve health, eliminate extreme poverty, and develop youth leaders in this hemisphere’s poorest country.

NEW YORK, July 22, 2009 – BRAC is leading a $15 million initiative to rebuild war-torn communities in West Africa, four organizations supporting the effort announced today.

The Soros Economic Development Fund, Open Society Initiative for West Africa, Omidyar Network, and Humanity United are funding this groundbreaking initiative to support families and prevent renewed conflict.

“This investment in the people of West Africa comes at a critical time,” said Stewart Paperin, president of the Soros Economic Development Fund. “With their countries emerging from devastating civil wars, this support gives people the tools to rebuild.”

BRAC, one of the world’s largest anti-poverty groups, is providing microfinance, health, and agricultural support in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It anticipates that over 500,000 people will benefit from these programs.

The World Bank recently did a study on the role of publicly funded private schools in developing countries, including BRAC’s non-formal primary and pre-primary education programs in Bangladesh. Here are a few of the findings:

* Publicly funded private schools are providing high-quality, low-cost education. In certain studies, the educational achievements of students in these schools have been higher than those of students in publicly-operated schools.

* Enrollments in private education institutions has grown enormously over the past 15 years. Between 1991 and 2004, enrollment in private primary schools grew by 58 percent, compared to only 10 percent in public primary schools. Globally, approximately 113 million students are currently enrolled in non-government schools, 51 million of which are studying at the secondary level.

* More than 90 education public-private partnership programs exist in 50 countries around the world. These programs serve both high- and low-income families OECD countries spend an average of 12 percent of their education budgets on privately managed education institutions.

* In Bangladesh, the Non-Formal Primary Education Program of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) reaches over 1 million poor children. Launched in 1985 with 22 one-room schools; by 2007 it was serving more than 1.5 million children in more than 20,000 preprimary and 32,000 primary schools. Together, these schools account for 11 percent of all primary school children in the country.

We believe that building a world that works for all of us takes all of us.

The Frugal Innovation Forum is a platform for leaders from the global south to connect and explore solutions to the world’s toughest challenges. Development practitioners, social entrepreneurs, activists, policy-makers and academics collaborate for three days to work towards impact at scale.

This year we will explore innovations in education that can be scaled through hybrid partnerships, focusing on the following themes:

Quality education: Setting up the horizonCo-creation: Collaborating for scaleThe future: What is next in education?

What makes FIF unique?

Organised by practitioners for practitioners

Field exposure and hands-on learning, with an emphasis on co-creation

Hosted by, and held in the birthplace of, the #1 ranked NGO in the world

The global south has an innate predisposition to what we call ‘jugaad’, or ‘frugal innovation’. These innovations allow adaptation and large-scale change with limited resources.

The Frugal Innovation Forum sets up the space for discourse on existing best practices. The conference will kickstart with a day-long field visit, followed by two days of intense debates and plenaries on disruptive models and solutions.

Brishty Akhter, 18, is a skilled tailor who owns a business where she trains and employs other girls in southern Bangladesh. She started learning tailoring at 16 and then her parents used the money that they had saved for her marriage to buy her the business.

Brishty is a graduate of BRAC’s skills training for advancing resources (STAR) project, which is innovating upon the age-old practice of apprenticeships through keeping training based in small businesses and delivered in a hands-on way by ustads (master) craftspeople, but in a much quicker, more structured manner, and combined with literacy, numeracy and life skills.

The project is making changes at scale to Bangladesh’s skills landscape. To date, it has seen over 20,800 apprentices graduate. 95% of graduates are employed after just six months of training and their income increases by 8 times.

Every year, the Financial Times and IFC of The World Bank Group, recognise champion organisations and global initiatives bringing groundbreaking, commercially-viable solutions to current development challenges.

This year, STAR received special commendation in the Financial Times/International Finance Corporation Transformational Business Award in London. STAR was the only project by a non-government organisation to be recognised in the awards.

Skills training is crucial for Bangladesh, a country where 60% of the total labour force is under 30 years old and two million young people enter the labour market every year. Half of the population are illiterate or semi-literate, and most young people end up with irregular, informal jobs.

STAR is bringing high-quality training to people from all backgrounds, and linking graduates with decent work opportunities that respect the rights of workers.

The STAR model is one that is not only crucial for Bangladesh`s skills sector, but was highlighted because it could actually be used in many other countries. The project directly addresses some of the most urgent issues in education and skills globally, discussed at the awards conference.

Current global unemployment and underemployment statistics both point to the importance of skills training. The issue of gender parity in economic development was highlighted at the conference as an immediate call for action, since women participation in the labour market is still not significant in many sectors. STAR ensures that 57% of its apprentices are young women like Brishty and that 15% of its overall graduates are trained in trades like mobile phone repairing, ICT or refrigeration and air conditioning servicing- sectors that are traditionally reserved for men. In a region with the lowest gender parity in the world, these women are working the same hours and employed in the same sectors as men.

The involvement of the private sector in skills training was also emphasised. Training providers are advised to explore partnership opportunities with private industries in collaborative financing; designing courses and ensuring sustained employment opportunities for young people.

At a time when the whole world is tackling challenges to improve women participation in the labour market, STAR has been quietly unlocking the potential of thousands of girls here in Bangladesh. The international recognition only proves that this unique apprenticeship model can have equal impact in other countries. The last five years have been a remarkable journey for me. I saw young women like Brishty come out of their societal barriers to become entrepreneurs and grow in their own fields, in their own ways.

Joydeep Sinha Roy is a senior manager at BRAC’s skills development programme.